Second-half tries from Sam Tuitupou and Barry Murphy proved crucial for Munster as they were pushed all the way by the Scarlets.

Inspirational captain Johnathan Edwards helped himself to a brace of tries and Rhys Priestland kicked six of his eight shots at goal to give the Scarlets a chance of winning the top-of-the-table clash.

But quickfire scores from Tuitupou and Murphy, which were supplemented by Paul Warwick's 17-point haul, guided Munster to a narrow win and a seven-point lead at the summit of the Magners League.

A try from replacement scrum-half Jamie Nutbrown saw the Ospreys steal a late Magners League 16-15 win from under the noses of a hard-grafting Connacht side.

The Sportsground fell silent in the 78th minute as Nutbrown exposed a defensive lapse from the hosts to score from close range, and fellow replacement Matthew Jarvis comfortably converted from in front of the posts.

That nudged the Ospreys into a 16-15 lead and the defending champions, despite being second best for much of the encounter, hung on to take the points. Miah Nikora was Connacht's only scorer on the night, converting five penalties with his left boot, while the Ospreys' out-half Matthew Morgan kicked two penalties and a drop goal on his league debut.